Detergent composition



, Patented Nov. 21, 1939 nn'rnnonu'r COMPOSITION Coleman It. Caryl and Alphons 0. Jaeger, Mount Lebanon, Pa, assignors to American Cyanamid & Chemical Corporation, Bridgeville, Pa., a corporation of Delaware No Drawin Application July '1, 1937,

' Serial No. 152,372

Claims. (Cl. 87-5) This in Clio-iv. relates to a new detergent composition which is specifically designed for domestic uses such as laundering, washing dishes, cleaning rugs and upholstery, washing woodwork n and the like, but which-is also suitable for wider uses in commercial operations requiring a substantially neutral detergent suitable for use in any hard water and resistant to the action of acids. Objects of the invention are to produce a detergent whichdissolves readily in warm or hot water, which is stable and preferably non-caking upon storage and which is neutral and non-damaging to the hands or to fabrics.

In the prior United States Patent No. 2,028,091, dated Jan. 14, 1936, of A. O. Jaeger, one of the present inventors,- there is described at length a class of esters of sulfo-dicarboxylio acids which have remarkable wetting and detergent properties in aqueous solutions when used in the form of their soluble salts. We have now discovered that mixtures of these substances with inert watersolubie carrier materials may be successfully spray-dried by the ordinary commercial spray- 5 drying methods and that-the products so obtained are highly efiicient detergents for domestic and industrial use.

Any of the sulfo-dicarboxylic acid esters de-' scribed in the specification of the patent above 30 referred to may be spray-dried'in conjunction with water-soluble inert carriers in accordance with the present invention, but we have found that the esters, and preferably the normal esters of sulfo-succinic acid will produce the best detergents for domestic use. These compounds have the following structural formula:

. H HSO=CCOOR no-cooiz H 1 in which R is an alkyl group, and for use in the preparation of detergents of the present-invention the hydrogen atom of the sulfo-succinic acid groupis preferably replaced by an alkali metal 45 salt such as-sodium, potassium orv ammonium, or

by an organic base such as ethanolamine, alkaloid, etc. In general, the above'positive metals and groups are those which produce water-soluble salts -of aliphatic sulfo-dicarboxylio acid esters 50 and in the following claims we shall use the term water-soluble salt to indicate this class oi reagents. 1

While any of the esters of the aliphatic sulfov c ds w b ad n p acticing the reason of the alcohols having three or more carbon atoms by.

improved wetting and detergent properties which these esters possess. For best results, we prefer the esters of alcohols having 5-8 carbon atoms, such as amyl alcohol, hexyl al- 5 cohol, octyl alcohol, capryl alcohol, or mixtures of these alcohols, since these compounds havethe greatest wetting properties. However, other alco- 1 hols may give more desirable properties for special purposes than do the ones named, although possi- 10 bly with some sacrifice of wetting power, and the invention in its broadest aspects is not limited to esters of alcohols giving the greatest possible wetting powers.

The carrier materials which are used must be 15 k ceptable detergent qualities, thereby reducing waste. A suitable carrier should also be stable and non-hygroscopic in order to prevent. caking of the detergent upon standing and should'not develop too much acidity or alkalinity in the presence of moisture. For these reasons we preferto use a non-hygroscopic water-soluble carrier which exhibits when in a saturated aqueous solution a pH value between 6.5 and 8.5. J

A carrier having the above qualifications may be organic or inorganic In the organic field we have used materials'such as corn sugar, cane sugar, and neutral salts of organic acids such as tartrates, succinates and the like. In the inorganic field we have used a number-of'neutral salts such as sodium chloride, potassium chloride, and the like, but we prefer to use neutral sodium. sulfate because it is easily spray-dried to a fine powder that dissolves instantly in hot water. We 40 may also use carriers which have some detergent or cleaning properties of their own, such as so- I ticular use for which his designed. For ordinary 5 household use we prefer to use mixtures in which the amount of ester varies, from 5-25% and the signed to improve its scouring, foaming and cleaning properties. v

As' las been stated, our detergent compositions may be prepared in any known or approved spray-drying equipment. We have obtained excellent results with a standard type of spray dryer now on the market in which the material to be dried is atomized into a vertical cylinder containing a rising vortex of hot air or hot products of combustion. Air temperatures of GOO-700 F. are preferably used in this equipment and saturated solutions of the sulfo-dicarboxylic I acid ester salt and inert carrier are introduced simultaneously. The invention will be more specifically described in conjunction-with the following specific example, which illustrates compositions prepared in this equipment but to which the invention is not limited.

Example A composition containing 540% of sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate is prepared as follows:

Sodium sulfate is dissolved in water toa 31% 35 solution. 'Sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate is dissolved in a mixture of water, methyl or ethyl alcohol and a small amount of butyl ether of diethylene glycol to a 60% solution.

The sodium sulfate is fed into the centrifugal atomizer of a spray drying chamber at the rate 40 of 7 lbs. per minute.

' To produce a detergent containing 5% of sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate and 95%v of anhydrous sodium sulfate, the sulfosuccinate solutign is introduced into the atomizer simultane- I about BOO-640 F.

The outlet temperature of the air leaving the apparatus should be about 220-240 F.

Under these conditions an almost complete recovery of a spray dried mixture is obtained in soaps, saponin, abrasives or other substances de- The inlet temperature of the hot air should be I the form of a snow-white powder that is light, fluffy and dissolves instantly in hot water.

The .rate of sulfosuccinate introduction may be varied within wide limits, and may be as high as 3200 cc. per minute, in which case a mixture containing of the sulfosuccinate and 50%,

sodium sulfate is obtained.

Instead of using the. sodium salt of dioctyl sulfosuccinate, the potassium salt may be used. In this case we prefer to use potassium sulfate instead of sodium sulfate as the carrier. When the potassium compounds are used the resulting composition has better foaming properties and the suds produced are more stable.

What we claim is:

1. A detergent composition in the form of a neutralpowder which is stable, non-cakin'g and readily soluble in water, comprising a spraydried mixtureof the sulfosuccinic ester of an aliphatic alcohol having from 5 to 8 carbon atoms and a Water-soluble, non-hygroscopic carrier which is stable at spray-drying temperatures and which exhibits when in a saturated solution a pH value between 6.5 and 8.5.

2. A detergent composition in the form of a neutral powder which is stable, non-caking and readily soluble in water; comprising a spraydried mixture containing 5-15% of the sulfosuccinic ester of an aliphatic alcohol having from 5-8 carbon atoms and at least 50% of a watersoluble, non-hygroscopic carrier which is stable at spray-drying temperatures'and which exhibits when in a saturated solution a pH value between 6.5 and 8.5.

3. A detergent composition in the form of a neutral powder which is stable, non-caking and readily soluble in water, comprising a spray-dried mixture of the sulfosuccinic ester of an aliphatic alcohol having 5 to it carbon atoms and sodium sulfate.

4. A detergent composition in the form of a neutral powder. which. is stable, non-caking and readily soluble in water, comprising a spraydried mixture of'an alkali-metal salt of dioctyl sulfosuccinate and a water-soluble, non-hygroscopic carrier which is stable at spray-drying temperatures and which exhibits when in a saturated solution a pH value between 6.5 and 8.5.

5. A detergent comprising a spray-dried mixture comprising 5-15% of an alkali-metal salt ofv dioctyl sulfosuccinate and at least 50% of sodium sulfate.

. COLEMAN R. CARYL.

ALPHONS O. JAEGER 

